Heel release device for safety ski bindings



y 1969 R. ERLEBACH 3,455,568

HEEL RELEASE DEVICE FOR SAFETY SKI BINDINGS Filed March 15, 1965 INVENTOR RICHARD ERLEBACH RNEYS United States Patent 3,455,568 HEEL RELEASE DEVICE FOR SAFETY SKI BINDINGS Richard Erlebach, 200 Kleinwalsertal, Riezlern, Austria Filed Mar. 15, 1965, Ser. No. 439,564 Claims priority, application Austria, Mar. 20, 1964, A 2,440/64 Int. Cl. A63c 9/00 U.S. Cl. 28011.35 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A heel release device for safety ski bindings in which a heel thrust means has relatively movable spring biased members with one member engaging the heel groove of a ski boot and with the other member connected to tension elements extending forwardly from the heel thrust means at an angle whereby upward movement of the ski boot will move the point of contact of the heel thrust member with the boot across the line formed by the tension elements to release the ski boot from the ski.

This invention relates to a heel release device for safety ski bindings.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a heel release device for safety ski bindings which can be manufactured with low costs while assuring with certainty the quick release of the skiers boot in the case of a dangerous forward fall of the skier.

Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds, especially when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating three preferred embodiments of the invention, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic side elevation of a first embodiment of the invention,

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic side elevation of another embodiment, and

FIGS. 3 and 4 are a rear view and a side elevation showing a final embodiment.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the heel thrust member 26 conforms to the skiing boot adjacent to the heel groove. A cylindrical sleeve 28 is slidable in a bore of the heel thrust member 26 and accommodates a cylindrical helical compression spring 29. The helical compression spring 29 bears at one end on the end face of the bore or slideway of the heel thrust member 26 and at the other end on an adjusting screw 30, which is screwable in an internal screw thread of the bore of the cylindrical sleeve 28 for adjusting the release moment. The cylindrical sleeve 28 is slidable in the bore or slideway of the heel thrust member 26 against the action of the spring 29 if the heel moves upwardly, and carries the suitably shaped heel thrust member 26 along. The cylindrical sleeve 28 has at the rear an extension 31, which is firmly connected to it and serves for receiving the continuous heel tension cable. Adjacent to the heel, the heel tension cable 32 is guided in downpull hooks 33. Further ahead, the cable may be secured to the side faces of the ski by means which are not shown, or may be hooked to the tension member of a known front tightener. In this embodiment and in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 2 to 4 a change from downhill running to crosscountry skiing is enabled by disengaging the cable 32 from the downpull hook 33.

In case of a forward fall of the skier, the heel thrust member 26 will be pushed upwardly against the action "ice of the spring 29 whereas the cylindrical sleeve 28 is held in position by the tension cable 32. As soon as the point of contact 34 between the heel thrust member 26 and the heel moves above the center plane of the tension cable 32, the heel release device swings to the rear and the foot is released. To re-apply the binding, the heel may be placed On the ski while the heel release device lies still on the surface of the ski. The release device is then swung about the point of contact 34 to the operative position shown on the drawing. Where a front tightener is provided, the heel release may be moved to its vertical position and moved against the boot thereafter'by closing the front tightener.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 2 differs from that of FIG. 1 only in that the point of engagement of the heel tension cable 32 is displaced to the longitudinal axis of the spring pressure device. For this reason, the heel thrust member 35 has on each side a longitudinal slot 36, Whereas the cylindrical sleeve 37 is provided on both sides with bearing eyes 38, which are connected each to one end of the tension cable 32, which is split in this embodiment. The mode of operation of the invention is the same as with the embodiment shown in FIG. 1.

The last embodiment, which is shown from the rear in FIG. 3 and from the side in FIG. 4, differs from the examples described hereinbefore in that a tension spring 39 is used. This tension spring 39 is suspended in a cylindrical bore or slideway 40 of the heel thrust member 41 from a top closing plug 42 of the bore 40, e.g., with the aid of a pin extending into the turns of the spring. The lower end of the tension spring 39 is connected to a holding element 43, which is slidably fitted on a shaft 44 extending transversely through the heel thrust member. The tension spring 39 may be suspended by other means between the closing plug and the transverse axis. The ends of the shaft 44 protruding from the heel thrust member 41 are designed so that the two ends of the tension cable 32 can be detachably connected to these shaft ends by means of the eyes 45, which are diagrammatically shown. For a sufficient engagement of the heel thrust member 41 on the rear part of the boot, the member 41 is provided on both sides with suitably designed lugs 46, which do not adversely affect the rolling of the depending camlike extension 27 when the skiing boot is released. Such lugs 46 may suitably be provided also in the embodiments of FIGS. 1 and 2.

What I claim is:

1. A heel release device for safety ski bindings comprising a heel thrust member engageable with the heel groove of a skiing boot and which defines a slideway, a slide member slidably received in the slideway of said heel thrust member, spring means for relatively biasing said heel thrust member and said slide member, tension means connected to said slide member and adapted to be fixed to a ski forwardly on the sides of the heel of the skiing boot, the connection between said tension means and said slide member constituting a pivotal axis parallel to the surface of the ski about which said heel thrust member and slide member can pivot as a unit, said heel release device operating to pivot and thereby release when pursuant to excessive tension the point of contact between the heel thrust member and the heel groove of the ski boot is caused by relative sliding between said members to be above the line between the point at which said tension means is fixed to the ski, and said tension means is connected to said slide member.

2. A heel release device according to claim 1, characterized in that the heel thrust member conforms to the real part of meninges-6t aridhas a cam-like exten- References Cited sion extending below the heel groove.

3. A heel release device according to claim 1, charac- FOREIGN PATENTS terized in that the spring means is a tension spring 1711853 7/1952 Austriarnounted in the slideway of the heel thrust member, which 5 1,190,118 3/1959 f tension spring is connected at one end to the top end of 258334 1/1950 Swltzerland' the slideway and at the other end to a shaft which is slidable relative to the heel thrust member, and the ten- A N HERSH Pnmaly Exammer sion means is connected to the shaft. MILTON L. SMITH, Assistant Examiner 

